Tag: School

  • December 2, 2025

    I thought I’d feel differently about school and teaching now that I have a child of my own. Maybe that’s a sentiment that grows, instead of one that spontaneously springs forth when a child of your own is born. The building still felt sterile, most of my colleagues remained at a distance, and the students continued on, as they always have, appearing to be increasingly apathetic about learning.

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  • November 18, 2025

    Back when I was making a podcast, I made an episode about making teaching work for you. I imagine I said something about…you know, I don’t have a clue what I would’ve said on the topic. Today, however, I’ve been reminded about the notion because I’d like to test out a few ideas in my classroom.

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  • September 4, 2025

    Turning my mind away from thinking about school is difficult. The place – the energy of the place – is pervasive. It’s not particular to the school I’m currently at. Indeed, it seems to be at every school I’ve been to. There seems to be no effective way to just leave it behind.

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  • January 3, 2024

    What colleges have you attended?

    Listing off the schools that I’ve attended probably won’t be all that interesting to read. Well, I guess, it might be more interesting than what you’re about to read if what I write next is not of interest to you.

    The most interesting schooling experience that I’ve had was when I was attending a photography class in Finland. I don’t speak Finnish. The instructor didn’t speak English. We were developing film in a dark room. I didn’t fully appreciate just how interesting my life was at the time.

    I stole a book on photography from a classmate. Accidentally, of course, but I did take it. She lent it to me because it was in English. I lost it the following year, somewhere in my dorm. There were negatives tucked into the back of that book that’ll never get processed. I remember there being pictures of boats being stored in a wooded area behind the house of my host family.

    Photography was important to me during my experience as an exchange student. Given the language barrier, it was the most effective way I found to express myself. People were able to read into my photographs. They saw something that I didn’t, perhaps because they were looking at a piece of me.

  • October 10, 2023

    I learned something about myself today that I already knew. See, I was given the day to clean a room of the library. Just the one room. It was a mess, filled with loose cables and broken computers. Spending the day working on just the one task reminded me of how I work best when I’m given time to focus.

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  • October 3, 2023

    I gave my students “toilet tokens” today. Last night, I printed off some miniature toilets on my 3D printer and each of my students in one of my classes one. I’ve had enough of them leaving class every single day.

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  • September 22, 2023

    One of my students asked me how I’m doing this afternoon. I told him, and the rest of the class, that I’ve been in a terrible mood for the last couple of weeks and can’t figure out why. We joked about how it was probably because of school and them, the class. Truthfully, I don’t know why I’ve been so sour lately.

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  • September 12, 2023

    Just outside the school, there are two bus stops. It’s really annoying to have to stop at the south end of the school yard and then again at the north end when following a city bus that’s dropping off students. The staff parking lot is a right turn after the bus stop to the north. How come students can’t walk those 150 metres? I’m probably getting late for work…to teach them.

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  • August 31, 2023

    I’m not ready for the new school year to begin. I went to school today for a few hours but didn’t get enough done. Going in tomorrow is going to be a pain. After work, I went to the workshop, where I managed to finish an order that I’ve been working on.

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  • August 29, 2023

    It finally happened: we went to school today. Yesterday morning, we opted to stay in bed. This morning, we got ourselves up and out. Hannah even woke up early enough to go for a run.

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  • July 3, 2023

    July 3, 2023

    The first few days of summer are like the next day after a night out drinking — hungover. You feel it. You know you did something your body managed to survive. Facing the consequences hurts.

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  • June 23, 2023

    June 23, 2023

    Today was the last day of school for this year. The excitement of the beginning of summer wasn’t there. The day ended like most Fridays, except there were a few more handshakes.

    Now, it’s time to turn my attention to the summer months — the two shortest months of the year. I have big plans and I’m really looking forward to getting some things done.

    The first thing in the list is rest. Before anything else happens, I need to catch up on sleep, drink plenty of water, read a book, and relax. Those days will not be wasted, but I’m sure that the days will end before I’m ready for them to.